INTRODUCTION:

It is the ultimate nightmare for every human resources, security, or risk managementprofessional; your phone rings late Friday afternoon as you wind up loose ends from yetanother challenging week and are looking forward to a quiet weekend. A panic strickenvoice informs you that Mr. X in accounting has assaulted another co-worker andthreatened to harm a supervisor. It turns out Mr. X was not only stealing money, but didnot really have the experience claimed.

As the mess is being sorted out, everyone will be asking you the same question over andover. From the company CEO, CFO, and corporate attorney to managers, supervisors,and co-workers, there is one thing everyone wants to know; how did that person get hiredin the first place?

If the matter turns into litigation, the legal fees for just one incident of workplacemisconduct can easily soar into the six figures. Injured co-workers, members of thepublic who were damaged, or even the bad employee who may claim wrongfultermination can sue your firm. Once litigation starts, you will also find that in addition toyour normal duties you now have a second and full time job dealing with the discoveryprocess in litigation and the organizational fallout.

The statistics on the consequence of even one bad hire are chilling. The financial cost tobusiness from theft, violence, and false credentials can be enormous. There are othercosts that are hard to measure, such as the harm to employee morale or the firm’sreputation. Industry statistics suggest the cost of even one bad hiring can exceedRs.100000 taking into account the time spent on recruitment, hiring, and training and theamount of time the job is left undone or done badly by an unqualified applicant.

Given the enormous price tag of the bad hiring decision, it is no surprise that employersof all size are turning into various tools to boost the effectiveness of hiring process. Thetools run from honesty and skills testing to behaviors-based and group interviewtechniques.

Ultimately none of these has proved effective in weeding out bad candidates, unless usedin conjunction with a program of pre-employment background screening to obtain hardfacts about a candidate.

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Employment Screening Services & Employee Background Checks:

Employment screening services and employee background checks are vital to

maintaining workforce integrity and safety. Background check or backgroundinvestigation is the process of looking up and compiling criminal records, commercialrecords and financial records (in certain instances such as employment screening) of anindividual.

Background checks are often requested by employers on job candidates, especially on

candidates seeking a position that requires high security or a position of trust, such as in aschool, hospital, financial institution, airport, and government. These checks aretraditionally administered by a government agency for a nominal fee, but can also beadministered by private companies. Results of a background check typically include pastemployment verification, credit score, and criminal history.

These checks are often used by employers as a means of objectively evaluating a jobcandidate's qualifications, character, fitness, and to identify potential hiring risks forsafety and security reasons. Background check is also used to thoroughly investigatepotential government employees in order to be given a security clearance. However,these checks may sometimes be used for illegal purposes, such as unlawfuldiscrimination (or employment discrimination), identity theft, and violation of privacy.The onus of selecting the right candidate lies primarily on the HR Executive who uses hisexperience and expertise to evaluate the candidate. A direct interaction with the candidatespeaks volumes of his personality. However, a more in depth evaluation of theprospective employee is a must.

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What is Pre Employment Screening?

As the name suggests, it is the process of screening / verifying a person's background

information prior to employing him in your organization. It has become imperative toconfirm and re confirm a persons’ background, his character and his proposedexperience. Pre Employment Screening (verification) aids in eliminating such risks aswork place violence, internal thefts etc. Hiring an undeserving candidate canunnecessarily increase your training and recruitment costs, harm your organizations’harmony and put confidential information into jeopardy.Failure to conduct a background check has multiple negative repercussions which canwell be avoided through a well balanced pre employment screening program.

IMPORTANCE OF BACKGROUND SCREENING:

The use of background report is becoming a common phenomenon in today's job market.The corporate world is requiring all its employees or job applicants to undertake checksto ensure all the information they provide is truthful. The need for caution is even morenow than earlier mainly because of safety and security measures. No matter the status orposition of your employment, a check into one's life has to be done. Fear has risen amongemployees who worry that employers can go digging up information that does not relateto a job or vacancy. In their defense the employers indicate that they are only beingcautious.

To understand this concept, first we need to know why these checks are necessary toemployers. The market today calls for a thorough background report of employees hencecompanies or organization follow suit. To prevent lawsuits that may otherwise arise dueto inappropriate hiring of staff, state background checks help to counter this. Childsmuggling rings have resulted in tougher measures to prevent this syndicate hence allemployees that care for children are screened. The global war on terrorism has madesecurity concerns a priority of any nation thus not just anyone can be hired without firstknowing his/her identity. Due to the significance of their jobs; executives, directors orofficers require tougher screening than the rest. They have access to large resources and aconsiderable amount of power thus the need for caution. Applicants today may tend tofalsify their resume so as to make it appear fit for a certain job description; they try toprey on the knowledge that employers don't have the time to run checks on them. In theUS, state background checks are a necessity for a certain category of jobs. They includethose working in retirement homes and adoption agencies. The advent of moderntechnology has made it cheaper and faster to vet an employee or applicant.Mount Carmel Institute Of Management Page 3A background check often includes the social security number, credit records, bankruptcystatus, medical records, driving records, educational records, criminal records, vehicleregistration, court records, property ownership, and personal references, past employers,drug test records, incarcerations records, military records, character references and statelicensing records. Information that is not usually included is criminal history, any arreststhat may have taken place in the life of an individual, bankruptcy status though it isusually public knowledge and any compensation that an employee may have beenawarded in the past. Permission is required by employers to access certain records thatinclude medical, educational and military service. Proper procedure has to be followedby employers in conducting this kind of process. It requires the permission of theapplicant or employee as stated in the law. In most cases, falsifying a resume is acriminal offensive and the employer can take stern measures against you.

BENEFITS OF SCREENING:

• Uncovers falsified or puffed credentials.

• Eliminates uncertainties in the hiring process. • Saves money and time spent in recruiting, hiring, and training. • Can help protect against negligent hiring lawsuits. • Reduces turnover. • Reduces workplace violence. • Failure to perform pre-employment screening could destroy everything a business owner or manager has worked hard to build. • Elimination of risks of theft and fraud

OUTSOURCE YOUR EMPLOYEE SCREENING NEEDS:

Many organizations outsource the entire screening procedures to an agency thatspecializes in doing so. This helps them to –• Save time, energy and resources in learning the screening process and insteadconcentrate on running their own business, something that they do best.• Absorb the new candidate and grow with him. Since the specialists have alreadycompleted a thorough background check, there is nothing left to worry about.• Help the HR department to concentrate on their core competencies.• Furnish the reports put together by the screening team as a legal document at a laterstage

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TOPIC: EVALUATION OF BACKGROUND VERIFICATION PROCESS DURINGRECRUITMENT.INTRODUCTION:HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT:Human resource management (HRM) is the strategic and coherent approach to themanagement of an organization's most valued assets - the people working there whoindividually and collectively contribute to the achievement of the objectives of thebusiness. In simple sense, HRM means employing people, developing their capacities,utilizing, maintaining and compensating their services in tune with the job andorganizational requirement.

Human Resource Management (HRM) is the function within an organization that focuseson recruitment of, management of, and providing direction for the people who work inthe organization. Human Resource Management can also be performed by line managers.

Human Resource Management is the organizational function that deals with issuesrelated to people such as compensation, hiring, performance management, organizationdevelopment, safety, wellness, benefits, employee motivation, communication,administration, and training.

Human resource is a term used to describe the individuals who comprise the workforceof an organization, although it is also applied in labour economics to, for example,business sectors or even whole nations. Human resources is also the name of the functionwithin an organization charged with the overall responsibility for implementing strategiesand policies relating to the management of individuals (i.e. the human resources). Thisfunction title is often abbreviated to the initials 'HR'.Human resource is a relatively modern management term, coined in the 1960s. Theorigins of the function arose in organizations that introduced 'welfare management'practices and also in those that adopted the principles of 'scientific management'. Fromthese terms emerged a largely administrative management activity, co-coordinating arange of worker related processes and becoming known, in time as the 'personnelfunction'. Human resources progressively became the more usual name for this function,in the first instance in the United States as well as multinational corporations, reflectingthe adoption of a more quantitative as well as strategic approach to workforcemanagement, demanded by corporate management and the greater competitiveness forlimited and highly skilled workers.Human Resource Management (HRM) is seen by practitioners in the field as a moreinnovative view of workplace management than the traditional approach. Its techniques

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force the managers of an enterprise to express their goals with specificity so that they canbe understood and undertaken by the workforce and to provide the resources needed forthem to successfully accomplish their assignments. As such, HRM techniques, whenproperly practiced, are expressive of the goals and operating practices of the enterpriseoverall. HRM is also seen by many to have a key role in risk reduction withinorganizations.Synonyms such as personnel management are often used in a more restricted sense todescribe activities that are necessary in the recruiting of a workforce, providing itsmembers with payroll and benefits, and administrating their work-life needs. So if wemove to actual definitions, Torrington and Hall (1987) define personnel management asbeing:“a series of activities which: first enable working people and their employingorganizations to agree about the objectives and nature of their working relationship and,secondly, ensures that the agreement is fulfilled" (p. 49).While Miller (1987) suggests that HRM relates to:".......those decisions and actions which concern the management of employees at alllevels in the business and which are related to the implementation of strategies directedtowards creating and sustaining competitive advantage"Its features include:

FUNCTIONS:The Human Resources Management (HRM) function includes a variety of activities, andkey among them is deciding what staffing needs you have and whether to useindependent contractors or hire employees to fill these needs, recruiting and training thebest employees, ensuring they are high performers, dealing with performance issues, andensuring your personnel and management practices conform to various regulations.Activities also include managing your approach to employee benefits and compensation,employee records and personnel policies. Usually small businesses (for-profit or non-profit) have to carry out these activities themselves because they can't yet afford part- orfull-time help. However, they should always ensure that employees have—and are awareof—personnel policies which conform to current regulations. These policies are often inthe form of employee manuals, which all employees have.

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In simple terms, an organization's human resource management strategy shouldmaximize return on investment in the organization's human capital and minimizefinancial risk. Human Resources seeks to achieve this by aligning the supply of skilledand qualified individuals and the capabilities of the current workforce, with theorganization's ongoing and future business plans and requirements to maximize return oninvestment and secure future survival and success. In ensuring such objectives areachieved, the human resource function purpose in this context is to implement theorganization’s human resource requirements effectively but also pragmatically, takingaccount of legal, ethical and as far as is practical in a manner that retains the support andrespect of the workforce.Human Resources may set strategies and develop policies, standards, systems, andprocesses that implement these strategies in a whole range of areas. The following aretypical of a wide range of organizations:

Implementation of such policies, processes or standards may be directly managed by the

HR function itself, or the function may indirectly supervise the implementation of suchactivities by managers, other business functions or via third-party external partnerorganizations.IMPORTANCE OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT:

Each and every employee has to contribute individually and also collectively to thesuccess of the organization. At the low level they have to contribute to a goal. To makethem contribute the human resource management team has to work harder. It is foundthat the contribution of an employee is low when they do not know what they are doing.

Lack of knowledge on a particular process or technology, leads to low productivity in the

organization. The human resource department should identify such employees and train

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them in the necessary skills. They should also know the individual and group psychologyto deal such employees in the organization.

The HR management team should attract the right talent to their organization, giveappropriate compensation, retain them and also develop them to meet the current andfuture organizational goals. The HR management team is dedicated to this work roundthe clock. Without them it is not possible to have the right team to execute projects. Theyneed to keep track of the skill acquired by the employees during their tenure in theorganization and deploy them for the right projects.

The employees need to be properly trained and motivated by the human resourcemanagement team. The ethical policies should be communicated to them at the right timeand the problems in the organization should be revealed to get the right solution fromthem. Thus they should make the employees work more efficiently to meet theorganization’s goal.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM:

The impact of fake CV is appalling to any organization and hence backgroundverification process is necessary to prevent negligent hiring suits. Thus, it will assure thereliability of a CV and helps the business to hire only those likely to be effective on thejob.

LITERATURE REVIEW:Article: 1By Lester S. Rosen(Published in the Career Section of the Sunday San Francisco Examiner/Chronicle)

Employers are increasingly turning to background screenings of job applicants as a way

of minimizing legal and financial exposure. Concerns about workplace violence,negligent-hiring lawsuits, wrongful termination and other problems are leading manyemployers to be more careful about who is hired in the first place.For applicants, however, background screening can create an uneasy feeling that they aremistrusted from the start or that Big Brother is watching.The fact is, however, that background screening of job applicants benefit employers andemployees alike.

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For applicants, the advantage of working for a company that requires screening is thatefforts have been made to ensure that co-workers have the qualification and credentialsthey say they have. In addition, employers typically screen for criminal records,especially those involving in violence or dishonesty.For the employer, screening saves the time and money wasted in recruiting, hiring andtraining the wrong candidates and eliminates potential difficulties in the work force.Of course, a background screening is not a full-fledged investigation. Screeningcompanies are typically looking for red flags indicating potential problems or resumesthat are not factual or omit important information.When an employer uses a background screening company to prepare a report, severalsteps must occur: • The employer must clearly disclose to the applicant in a separate document that a report is being prepared. The disclosure can no longer be buried in an application in the fine print. • A signed release is required before checking records such as criminal convictions or pending criminal cases, driving records, credit reports or educational credentials. • An additional notice is required when a background firm checks references, such as asking previous employers about job performance. • If an employer intends to deny employment based upon information in the report, the job applicant must receive a copy of the report and a notice of legal rights. • If an applicant believes the information is wrong, the applicant can inform the screening agency, which must remove or correct inaccurate or unverified information, usually within 30 days. • Applicants have the right to inspect their files.This is designed to strike a balance between an employer’s need to exercise due diligencein hiring and an applicant’s right of accuracy and privacy. For applicants who aregenuinely the victims of mistaken identity or bureaucratic errors, there is an opportunityto know what is being said about them and to fix the record so they are no deniedopportunities unfairly.For a job applicant, honesty is always the best policy. Negative information honestlydisclosed in an interview with an interview with an explanation may well have no effect.However, if the employer discovers it through a third party, then the lack of honesty maybe the reason for not getting the position.Even a criminal conviction cannot legally automatically disqualify a person fromemployment, without considering the nature of the offense, when it occurred, what theapplicant has done since and whether it is related to job performance.

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SCOPE FOR FURTHER STUDIES:Background checks are frequently conducted to confirm information found on anemployment application or résumé/curriculum vitae. One study showed that half of allreference checks done on prospective employees differed between what the job applicantprovided and what the source reported. They may also be conducted as a way to furtherdifferentiate potential employees and pick the one the employer feels is best suited forthe position. Employers have an obligation to make sure their work environment is safefor all employees and helps prevent other employment problems in the workplace. • To find out the awareness of background verification in the IT, ITES, Infrastructure and Pharmaceutical Sectors.

• To find out the utility of background verification in the IT, ITES, Infrastructure and Pharmaceutical Sectors.

• To find out the significance of background verification in the IT, ITES,

Infrastructure and Pharmaceutical Sectors.

• To find out the opinions of companies about outsourcing background verification

to the third party vendors.

OBJECTIVES:  To study the recruitment process adopted by companies.

 To study the background check process.

 To study the factors affecting the verification.

 To analyse the percentage of selected and rejected candidates based on

background verification.

 To give suggestions to impose the efficiency of recruitment process using

background verification.

Operational definition of concepts:

• Employment Verification: An employment verification is a method of verifying dates of, or gaps in, employment and positions held with the HR or Accounting departments of a candidates previous employer.Mount Carmel Institute Of Management Page 10 • Identity and Address Verification: whether the applicant is who he or she claims to be. Generally includes verification of the candidate’s present and previous addresses. Can include a money laundering, identity and terrorist check and one to verify the validity of passports. • Education records: These are used primarily to see if the potential employee had graduated from high school (or a GED) or received a college degree, graduate degree, or some other accredited university degree. There are reports of SAT scores being requested by employers as well. • Drug tests: Drug tests are used for a variety of reasons—corporate ethics, measuring potential employee performance, and keeping workers' compensation premiums down.

METHODOLOGY:Background check evaluation can be formative from the point of view that it may run anytime during the process and summative from the point of view of overall processevaluation. The use of qualitative data may be very helpful in explaining quantitativefindings. Data collection through both primary as well as secondary sources will be doneand experience survey will prove to be useful.

TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES USED FOR DATA COLLECTION:

Both primary and secondary sources of data collection can be used:Primary sources:  Questionnaire: containing questions relevant to the project to be filled by the human resource managers of different companies

Secondary source:  Internet, magazines, journals, books etc.

PLAN OF ANALYSIS: the data collected through primary and secondary sourceswould be analyzed by appropriate descriptive statistics. Measure of central tendencywould be appropriate for this study.

 Study through a single background verification firm

 The study will b carried with pure academic objectives but findings may be valuable feedback only to the organization and cannot be generalized.

OVERVIEW OF THE CHAPTER SCHEME:

Chapter One: Introduction: this chapter includes the subject background of theresearch topic.Chapter Two: Design of the study: this chapter includes: 1. A brief introduction of the subject background

2. Statement of the problem

3. Review of previous literature if any

4. Scope of the study

5. Objectives of the study

6. Hypothesis if any

7. Operational definition of concepts

8. Methodology

9. Sampling plan

10. Tools and techniques for collection of data

11. Plan of analysis

12. Limitations

13. An overview of the chapter scheme

Chapter Three: Profile of the company

This chapter includes complete profile Dcode Research Services Pvt Ltd, nature of its business, organizational structure, competitors, and vision and mission statement.

Chapter Four: Analysis of the study

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Here the primary data collected in tune with its objectives will be analyzed. Each question shall be reduced to a TABLE followed by the explanation and inferences. The analysis will be supported by Graphs, charts, diagrams wherever necessary.

Chapter Five: Summary of findings, conclusions and suggestions

This chapter provides summary of the findings, conclusions drawn from the findings and suggestions for improving strategy of Dcode Research Services Pvt Ltd, Bangalore.

COMPANY PROFILE:

DCODE RESEARCH SERVICE PVT. LTD.:

Dcode research private limited is a start-up risk management company specializing in

providing wide range of professional services from pre-employment to post-employmentverifications catering to the fast growing IT, ITES and other industries in India. Thiscompany started in November 2005.

DCODE VISION

"To be the Best Background Screening Solutions Provider"

DCODE MISION:

"To become the most reliable, committed and cost-effective pre and postemployment screening solutions provider in India"

The company works diligently to help you with your needs, always keeping in mind, thebasic aspects of our business - quality, integrity and efficiency. For aspirants looking toenhance their career prospects, we provide an opportunity and help them realize theirgoals.

Dcode delivers world-class talent of experienced professionals with deep business andtechnical acumen. By continuously refining skills and adapting to new technologies, wehelp taking your business productivity to new heights.

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LOCATION:

The company is head quartered in Bangalore, having network of associates in major

metros.

COMPETITORS:

The major competitors are FADE, Authbridge, Verifacts and Hill & Associates.

SWOT ANALYSIS:

Strengths:

A network of contacts nearing 20000+ across all industries (the fastest in this segment)

Weakness:

The industry itself is not geared up for background check.

Opportunities:

• The IT industry is aware of the recent scamps and frauds.

• More demand for verification companies in the IT sector.• Less competition since there is only few players conducting backgroundverification.

Threats:

Major competition from FADE, Authbridge, Verifacts and Hill & Associates, a wellestablished company in the field of risk management and background screening.

and positions is based on the individual’s education. Failing to verify importantinformation can result in having unqualified people in positions the don’t deserveaffecting company’s ability to compete. With this search the company will validateMount Carmel Institute Of Management Page 14schools attended, diplomas, degrees, and date of attendance. Based on the informationsupplied by the candidate, Dcode research will attempt to verify an applicant’s academichistory such as Degree earned, Date Degree earned, Degree in progress and Type ofdegree. Dcode research verifies this information by directly contacting theUniversities/Institutions from which the candidate passed out.

2. Employment Verification: some candidates may be less than truthful about

their employment history. Internal research shows this to be the number one discrepancyon resumes and job applications. The background specialists will verify information onapplicant’s resume, validate dates of employment, position, salary, reason for leaving ortermination and eligibility for re-hire, and they interview former supervisors who hadpersonal knowledge of the applicant’s skills and qualifications. Additionally, DcodeResearch also reports any discrepancies in employment history including time gap to theemployers.

3. Reference Verification: a verification of business or personal credentials is a

valuable source of information about the applicant’s general image as perceived byothers. Results may offer insight into the candidate’s trustworthiness, reliability,competency and integrity. All questions can be customized to client’s unique needs.Interviews with former employers, co-workers may fill in the blanks when it comes toevaluating potential employees. Dcode Research conducts reference interviews withthose identified by applicants or the HR managers of companies where the candidateswere earlier working.

4. Criminal Checks: the report generates a list of addresses the applicant has livedat the last seven years. They use these addresses as the benchmark for beginning acriminal record search. This is the most effective way to verify the candidate’s criminalhistory and the best way to ensure legal protection. These records will indicate if asubject has a criminal act or offense filing within the last seven years, or more ifapplicable. Complete reports will include the date filed, charges, level of the charges,deposition date and final disposition.

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Analysis and interpretation

 Question 1, Q.13 and Q.14 are applicable to the total sample, i.e. 70.  Question 2 to question 4 is applicable to the respondents who have answered “No” in question 1, i.e. companies that do not conduct background screening. (Sample size: 5)  Question 5 to question 12 is applicable to the respondents who have answered “Yes” in question 1, i.e. companies that conduct background screening. (Sample size: 65)

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Ultimately none of the hiring tools proves to be effective in weeding out bad candidates,unless used in conjunction with a program of pre-employment background screening toobtain hard facts about a candidate. Thus, from the table and analysis it can be inferredthat most of the companies are aware of background screening and conduct backgroundscreening as part of the recruitment process in order to minimize the risk of fraudulententries and dishonesty in work place.

Table 2: showing the reason for not conducting background screening:

Analysis:The above table shows that 4 companies do not conduct background screening because oflack of resources and 1 company do not conduct background screening as there exist astringent hiring process.

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From the table and analysis it can be inferred the companies that lack in resources andbelieve that they have a stringent hiring process do not want to invest in conductingbackground screening.

Table 3: showing the willingness of the companies to conduct background screening in

the near future who does not conduct at present: Willingness No. of respondents Percentage Yes 0 0 No 0 0 Not sure 5 100

Analysis:The above table shows that all the 5 companies that do not conduct background screeningare not sure whether they would like to conduct background screening in the future.

Graph 3: showing the willingness of the companies to conduct background screening in

the near future who does not conduct at present

3 Yes No 2 Not sure

0 No. of respondents

Inference:

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From the table and analysis it can be inferred that the 5 companies that do not conductbackground screening are startup companies and have limited resources and so notdecided if they would like to conduct background screening in the future.

Table 5: showing the reason for conducting background screening:

Analysis:The above table shows that out of 65 companies who conduct background screening, 3started after an incident in the company, 15 started after hearing the recent scams aboutfake resumes and 47 companies conduct as it is a part of their company policy.

Graph 5: showing the reason for conducting background screening

50

40 After an incident in the company 30 Heard of recent scams 20 Company policy

10 Others

0 No. of respondents

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Inference:From the table and analysis it can be inferred that with the increasing importance ofbackground screening, many companies have made it a company policy while hiring andfew have started after hearing the recent scams and only 3 have started after an incidentin the company to avoid the risk of hiring fraudulent employees.

Table 6: showing the types of background verifications that the companies conduct:Types No. of respondents Percentage

Graph 6: showing the types of background verifications that the companies conduct

35

30 Employment verification

25 Education and 20 Employment verification Police verification 15

10 Drug screeningtest

5 All the above

0 No. of respondents

Inference:

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Applicants today may tend to falsify their resume so as to make it appear fit for a certainjob description. From the table and analysis it can be inferred that police verification anddrug screening test are not common in India whereas employment and educationverification is being conducted by most of the companies as there is results of fakeinformation provided by the candidates to get their dream jobs.Table 7: showing job levels at which background check is conducted in the companies:Job-level No. of respondents PercentageEntry level 28 43.1Middle-level 0 0Top-level 0 0All-level 37 56.9

Analysis:The above table shows that out of 65 companies who conduct background screening, 28companies conduct background screening for the entry level employees whereas other 37companies conduct at all level.

Graph 7: showing job levels at which background check is conducted in the companies

40 35 30 25 Entrylevel 20 Middle-level 15 Top-level 10 All-level

5 0 No. of respondents

Inference:The global war on terrorism has made security concerns a priority of any nation thus notjust anyone can be hired without first knowing his/her identity. Due to the significance of

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their jobs; executives, directors or officers require tougher screening than the rest. Theyhave access to large resources and a considerable amount of power thus the need forcaution. From the table and analysis it can be inferred that most of the companiesconduct background screening at all the job-levels whereas only a few conduct at theentry level.Table 8: showing the medium adopted by the companies for conducting backgroundscreening:Medium No. of companies PercentageIn-house 16 24.7Out-source 21 32.3Both 26 40

Graph 9: showing the benefits gained by the companies by conducting background

Inference:Hiring an undeserving candidate can unnecessarily increase your training and recruitmentcosts, harm your organizations’ harmony and put confidential information intojeopardy. Thus from the table and analysis it can be inferred that background screeningMount Carmel Institute Of Management Page 25help in reducing fraudulent entries, unproductive workforce, attrition and hiringexpenses.Table 10: showing the time taken in the background screening process by differentcompanies:Time-taken No. of respondents PercentageLess than a week 13 20A week 24 36.915 days 13 20A month 15 23.1More than a month 0 0

Analysis:The above table shows that 20% companies require less than a week’s time, 36.9%requires a week, 20% requires about 15 days and 23.1% requires about a month’s time inthe background screening process.

Graph 10: showing the time taken in the background screening process by differentcompanies

25

20 Less than a week 15 Aweek 15days 10 Amonth 5 More than a month

0 No. of respondents

Inference:As employment verification and drug screening test do not require much time thecompanies that conduct only these verifications requires less time whereas education andpolice verification takes longer time than drug screening and employment verificationand so requires longer time in the background screening process.

Inference:As the hiring process involves high cost and time, the H.R.Managers are beingpressurized by the top management to complete the formalities within a limited period oftime and thus lack of time is a major difficulty faced during background screening. Inmany cases the company is not provided with the data that the applicants are required toprovide and also the incorporation of the sources are other major difficulties faced by thecompanies during background screening.

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Analysis:The above table shows that the frequency of getting fake resumes less than 10 is 72.3%and between 10-30 is 18.3% and only 6% more than 30.

Graph 12: showing the frequency of getting fake resumes

50

40

30 >10 10– 30 20 <30 10

0 No. of respondents

Inference:Applicants today may tend to falsify their resume so as to make it appear fit for a certainjob description; they try to prey on the knowledge that employers don't have the time torun checks on them. But background screening has created a fear among the applicantsand as a result the applicants providing fake resumes have significantly decreased.

Table 13: showing the factors that companies look for in a third party vendor:Factors No. of respondents PercentageMount Carmel Institute Of Management Page 28Free of biasness 6 8.6Competitive pricing 9 12.8Network 6 8.6Faster service 20 28.6All the above 29 41.4

Analysis:The above table shows that 8.6% of the companies look for free of biasness and network,12.8% of the companies look for competitive pricing, 28.6% for faster services and therest 41.4% look for all the factors in a third party vendor.

Graph 13: showing the factors that companies look for in a third party vendor

Inference:From the table and analysis it can be inferred that as background verification is a part ofrecruitment process, the more time involved in background verification, the more is thehiring expenses as well as the recruitment process is delayed. Thus most of thecompanies look for faster. Also in the competitive market, companies look forcompetitive pricing as well as better network and free of biasness.

Table 14: showing the willingness to contact Dcode Research for outsourcingbackground screening:

Graph: 14 showing the willingness to contact Dcode Research for outsourcing

background screening

70

60

50

40 Yes 30 no

20

10

0 No. of respondents

Inference:From the table and analysis it can be inferred that almost all the companies are satisfiedwith their vendors and few who do not conduct background screening and are planning toconduct in the future would prefer to contact Dcode Research for outsourcing.

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS • Majority of companies conduct background screening of their employees and only few companies do not conduct background screening.

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• Companies that do not conduct background screening is because of lack of resources and existence a stringent hiring process. • Companies that do not conduct background screening are not sure whether they would like to conduct background screening in the future. • Companies that do not conduct background screening are not sure whether they would like to outsource background screening in the future. • Companies who conduct background screening started after an incident in the company or after hearing the recent scams about fake resumes and most of the companies conduct as it is a part of their company policy. • Companies mostly conduct both employment and education verification. Only few companies conduct all the four i.e. employment, education, police and drug test. • Companies mostly conduct background screening at all level and few at the entry level. • Among the companies who conduct background screening, most of them conduct both in-house and outsource it. • Companies conduct background screening mainly in order to prevent fraudulent entries and to reduce unproductive workforce and very few to reduce attrition and hiring expenses. • Companies that conduct only employment verification requires less than a month’s time and those education verification require requires about a month’s time. • Difficulties faced by most of the companies during background screening are lack of time and insufficient data. • The frequency of getting fake resumes less than as the applicants are now aware of background screening that is being carried out by most of the companies. • The companies mainly look for all the factors i.e. free of biasness network, competitive pricing and faster services and in a third party vendor.

ConclusionNot doing a thorough background check is as dangerous a practice as not havinginsurance. In the recent year there have been quite a number of events that have lead to

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immediate need for an increase in the security for that companies and the workforce ofthe company. With the huge advancement in technology over recent years, data theft isthe new invisible crime and poses a real threat to all business. Because employees haveaccess to vast amounts of data that sensitive data is vulnerable in the hands of a dishonestemployee.There are increasing numbers of companies that have understood the importance ofbackground check while hiring heir employees and have made it mandatory. This ismainly because of bad experience in the past with respect to employees faking theirresumes, particularly the educational qualifications and the experience. Although, inpractice, not all companies conduct a background check, therefore, it is necessary that inorder to hire the right kind of employee and reduce fraudulence and dishonesty inworkplace, companies should make it a part of the process to conduct background check.When we make background check a part of the process of recruitment, there are allpossibilities that the candidates applying are aware of the practices followed by thecompany. This automatically discourages fraudulent candidates from applying, which isa blessing in disguise as it saves the company a lot of time and money by no interviewingthe wrong candidates.Talking about the kind of checks, criminal and drug test are not so popular in India. In anadvanced country like the United States, criminal check is almost compulsorily donewhile recruiting for any job level. It becomes more important in India because there ishuge number of foreign companies setting up their operations in India. It is a matter ofcredibility. Any fraudulent practices by the employees, especially in foreign company,adversely affect the reputation of the company and mostly the country. Such cases arealways blown out of proportion and get attention world-over. To avoid such a disgustingsituation, it is always better that criminal check should be taken more seriously andshould be made mandatory at all levels of employment. Criminal check will increase thesecurity of the workforce and is important for the companies to perform a strong criminalcheck if they want to increase the security of the workforce and in turn increase theproductivity. In conclusion, it is necessary for the companies to conduct background check and makeit a routine part of recruitment process in order to hire the right kind of employees andreduce fraudulence and dishonesty in work places.

Suggestions

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• Most of the companies are no conducting criminal check, so Dcode Research can probably recommend these companies to conduct this check since it is the most important check in the background screening process. • Most of the companies look for faster service among the third party vendors so Dcode Research should try to provide faster service than its competitors. • Dcode Research should opt for competitive pricing strategy so that they can be the • Dcode research must stress the importance of background check at all levels of management in it sector and provoke more and more it companies to implement background screening. • Dcode research can recommend the companies to outsource education verification since the quality and reliability of this check done by them is too good and they would be directly contacting the head of the university/institution through their network and this would reduce the pressure of the human resource department. • There is a lot of scope for background screening agencies currently in India, so Dcode Research can also start up its operations in other major cities and should build up a strong network team across India. • Dcode is a new company in the field of background screening and most of the companies are not aware of this company, so it should involve in heavy advertisements. It can come up with attractive print ads and advertise it in newspaper or HR journals.